Acts 12:13-16

12:13 When he knocked at the door of the outer gate, a slave girl named Rhoda answered. ¹  12:14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she did not open the gate, but ran back in and told ²  them ³  that Peter was standing at the gate. 12:15 But they said to her, “You’ve lost your mind!” ⁴  But she kept insisting that it was Peter, ⁵  and they kept saying, ⁶  “It is his angel!” ⁷  12:16 Now Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door ⁸  and saw him, they were greatly astonished. ⁹ 

[12:13]  ¹ tn Or “responded.”

[12:14]  ² tn Or “informed.”

[12:14]  ³ tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[12:15]  ⁴ sn “You’ve lost your mind!” Such a response to the miraculous is not unusual in Luke-Acts. See Luke 24:11; Acts 26:25. The term μαίνομαι (mainomai) can have the idea of being “raving mad” or “totally irrational” (BDAG 610 s.v.). It is a strong expression.

[12:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “she kept insisting that the situation was thus” (cf. BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.a). Most translations supply a less awkward English phrase like “it was so”; the force of her insistence, however, is that “it was Peter,” which was the point under dispute.

[12:15]  ⁶ tn The two imperfect tense verbs, διϊσχυρίζετο (diiscurizeto) and ἔλεγον (elegon), are both taken iteratively. The picture is thus virtually a shouting match between Rhoda and the rest of the believers.

[12:15]  ⁷ sn The assumption made by those inside, “It is his angel,” seems to allude to the idea of an attending angel (cf. Gen 48:16 LXX; Matt 18:10; Test. Jacob 1:10).

[12:16]  ⁸ tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (see Acts 12:13).

[12:16]  ⁹ sn That they were greatly astonished is a common response in Luke-Acts to God’s work (Luke 8:56; Acts 2:7, 12; 8:13; 9:21; 10:45).